Knicks' head coach Mike Woodson wants more from his point guards Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni

View full sizeKnicks' point guard Jason Kidd needs to be more aggressive, according to head coach Mike Woodson Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Knicks won't have starting point guard Raymond Felton for at least another month, so someone has to pick up the slack until he returns. And so far, according to head coach Mike Woodson, no one has suitably stepped up yet.

That includes future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd and Spanish League star Pablo Prigioni, who have both struggled since Felton's injury. While Woodson wasn't trying to single out his point guards, he did note that defensively his schemes start with whomever is up top, and that usually means the point guards and wingmen.

“I want it from every perimeter guy, not just Kidd and Pablo. I’m talking about Ronnie [Brewer] and J.R. [Smith], everybody who plays out there," said Woodson. "We have to start taking more pride and taking it more personal in guarding the basketball. If we guard the ball, then we don’t have to worry about rotation, and everybody can stay home and just guard their man when their guy gets the ball."

Defensively is where the Knicks (21-10) have struggled the most during their uneven play of the last couple of weeks -- and specifically at point guard. If it's not Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving going off for 41 points, then it's Portland Trail Blazers rookie point guard Damian Lillard going for 21, including the back-breaking 3-pointer in the waning seconds. And it doesn't get any easier tonight when Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs visit the Garden.

Perhaps to counter opposing point guard's excellence, Kidd and Prigioni will need to be more of a threat on the offensive end, as Woodson figures if they're having trouble stopping those younger and speedier point guards, at least match their production.

The problem with that theory, though, is that Kidd and Prigioni need to take shots in order to have the chance to make shots.

“He [Prigioni] and Kidd both [need to be more aggressive], so I’ll sit them down and explain to them," Woodson said. "Raymond is out for a while, so both of them are going to have to be a little more aggressive offensively – and I don’t mind that [if they shoot more]."

Both have the capabilities of being better scorers, especially Kidd, who is shooting .430 percent from 3, trailing only Carmelo Anthony (.435 percent) on the squad.

Anthony said he supports more offense from Kidd, and basically dared opponents to continue to think of Kidd as an offensive afterthought.

“That’s why we got him. He’s still a big-time player, especially coming down the stretch," Anthony said. "We now how smart he is. We love when teams leave him open, because he usually comes up big for us."

Prigioni can also be a viable outside threat, especially as teams constantly leave him wide open, so Anthony added that he also tries to get the Argentine out of his shell.

“He’s very important in the way he controls the tempo when he comes off the bench," Anthony said. "He’s aggressive in making plays for others, but he still needs to be aggressive for himself sometimes – and we still get on him sometimes about that. But when he’s looking for his shot some, it definitely opens things up for others out there."

Hopefully, starting tonight, the Knicks will unveil their new-look, offensive-minded point guards.